Digital Commons Network^™

The Role Of Image Resolution To Locomotion Tasks In Virtual Desktop Wayfinding, Lisa Dawn Anderson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

An experimental study at a large research university evaluated the role of image resolution on 60 participant's locomotion tasks in an interior virtual desktop wayfinding environment. Four virtual environments were developed using different resolutions for wayfinding images including high level 150 ppi, medium high level 100 ppi, medium level 75 and low level 30 ppi images. The environment was designed to accommodate forward, backward, sideways and figure 8 locomotion tasks as defined by the VEPAB. The effects of the different image resolutions on time-on-task performance scores to navigate through the environment, object-based visual attention as recorded by two eye movements …

Sharing The Power Of Words And Changing Lives Through College-Level Instruction In Grammar And Mechanics, Carol Ann Tillema

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Intrigued by the English language and its far-reaching applications worldwide as a standard means of communication, I begin my disquisition with a focus on the meaning and derivation of grammar and its place in the trivium of ancient and modern study. I stress the need to reemphasize college-level instruction in grammar and mechanics as a complement to rhetoric and logic by studying and teaching editing, which involves semantics, syntax, phonology, morphology, conventions, mechanics (spelling, punctuation and format), in writing centers and classrooms. Noting growing nationwide illiteracy, I research the pedagogies and writing of experts in the field of rhetoric and …

Responding To Crises: A Test Of The Situational Crisis Communication Theory, Courtney Wright

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Crisis management includes efforts designed to prevent and to detect potential crises, and to learn from crisis experiences. The SCCT posits that certain crisis responses (matched) produce better outcomes for organizations than others (unmatched), depending on the situation. In addition, the results from this study attempt to support the situational crisis communication theory in aiding crisis managers in protecting their organizations against crises.

Daughter Of The Moon And Other Stories, Shannon Zimmerman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

All of the protagonists in this collection of stories are starving. The world around them buzzes with the electric hum of modern society, a siren song that tempts these girls and women with the promise of love, opportunity, affluence, and dreams. Instead, they find themselves lost somehow, left behind, victims of circumstance, confused by dysfunctional families, and romanced by the media. They no longer know themselves, and stumble in their quest for happiness. They are lured into competitions with imaginary adversaries, and sometimes lose. The less control they have in their own lives, the more desperate they become, often going …

Determination Of Decay Rates And Differential Survival Of Escherichia Coli And Enterococcus Spp. Strains Under Hydrodynamically Active Conditions Using Box-Pcr Typing, Phoebe West Koch

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Indicator organisms (IOs) such as Escherichia coli and Enterococcus spp. are used to predict the presence of pathogens in waters. Determining the relationships between environmental factors, IOs, and pathogens is a key to assessing water quality and ensuring public health, yet certain strains of E. coli and Enterococcus spp. survive for long periods in natural waters. Molecular subtyping, using repetitive extragenic palindromic DNA sequences (BOX-PCR), has been used to discriminate among environmental E. coli and Enterococcus spp. isolates. The reproducibility of BOX-PCR patterns varies with DNA purification methods; therefore, it is important to develop a standardized, rapid, high throughput DNA …

Development Of Novel Biocompatible Hydrogel Coatings For Implantable Glucose Sensors, Chunyan Wang

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Due to sensor -tissue interactions, currently none of the commercially available glucose sensors are capable of continuous, reliable monitoring of glucose levels during long-term implantation. In order to improve the lifetime of implanted glucose sensors, two series of biocompatible novel hydrogel coatings were designed, synthesized and the physical properties were measured.

Different hydrogels with various 2,3-dihydroxypropyl methacrylate (DHPMA) compositions were coated onto glucose sensors. Results show that the higher freezable water content, swelling rate and uniform porosity that resulted from high DHPMA content increased the sensitivity and shortened the response time of glucose sensors. The linear range of a glucose …

Linking Health Hazards And Environmental Justice: A Case Study In Houston, Texas, Marilyn Marie Williams

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation seeks to extend quantitative research on environmental justice and address methodological limitations of previous studies by: (a) using new indicators of exposure to air pollution and contemporary risk modeling techniques; (b) assessing disparities in human health risks, instead of focusing only on potential exposure or proximity to pollution sources; and (c) using multivariate regression models that consider the effects of spatial dependence. The case study examines racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in the geographic distribution of exposure to airborne toxic emissions from industrial point sources in the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria metropolitan statistical area. Industrial pollution sources for this study comprise facilities …

The First Icomde A Library For The Information Age, Daniel Elias Todd

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The library has existed as a repository for knowledge for centuries. However, in spite of the information revolution and its watershed component, the internet, this institution has found itself fundamentally unchanged. Great strides have been taken to adapt the library to this changing world, but these incremental changes are timid and reactionary.

Through the internet the floodgates have opened; individuals are creating and sharing information both personal and academic, in the form of not-so-private journals, works of creative fiction, works of journalism, works of scholarship, and every other form of intellectual (and not so intellectual) propagation imaginable.

Additionally, advances in …

A Comparative Study Of Six Decades Of General Science Textbooks: Evaluating The Evolution Of Science Content, Anna Lewis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined science textbooks over time to better understand the science content expectations that the U.S. educational system deems appropriate for 8th and 9th grade science students. The study attempted to answer the questions: 1) What specific science content has been presented via the textbook from 1952 to 2008? 2) Within which areas and in what way does the science content change? 3) Are new scientific findings reflected in 8th and 9th grade U.S. general science textbooks? Twenty-six themes were identified which reflect five areas in science: Chemistry, Physics, Earth Science, Biology, and Process of Science. Trends in science …

Multi-Level Regulation Of Argininosuccinate Synthase: Significance For Endothelial Nitric Oxide Production, Karen Davidowitz Corbin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The citrulline-nitric oxide (NO) cycle, comprised of the enzymes argininosuccinate synthase (AS), argininosuccinate lyase (AL) and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), is responsible for the regulated production of endothelial NO. Although most studies have focused on eNOS to uncover important regulatory mechanisms, we and others have determined that AS is an essential and regulated step in endothelial NO production. AS is rate limiting for endothelial NO production and is the primary source of arginine, the substrate for eNOS-mediated NO production, despite saturating intracellular levels of arginine and available arginine transport systems. AS is essential for endothelial cell viability and its …

From Cancer To Sexually Transmitted Infection: Explorations Of Social Stigma Among Cervical Cancer Survivors, Karen E. Dyer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research project aims to examine the idea of stigma attached to cervical cancer in light of its association with HPV, a sexually transmitted infection (STI). The public recognition of this relationship appears to be increasing due to the current media attention surrounding HPV's causative role in the development of cervical cancer, and the newly-released HPV vaccine. Thus, this study explores the experiences and perceptions of cervical cancer patients and survivors living with this disease at a moment in time when it is becoming a very visible manifestation of a sexually transmitted infection, versus one identified historically as a life-threatening …

The Drama Of Collaborative Creativity: A Rhetorical Analysis Of Hollywood Film Making-Of Documentaries, Robert M. González Jr.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Current creativity research is dominated by attention to the individual, with increasingly less attention paid to creativity in its context, in groups, and in filmmaking as a collaboratively creative enterprise. This study answers the research call to explore filmmaking as an exemplar for collaborative creativity. Utilizing the stories told on DVD extras on special edition releases of feature films, this study analyzes how collaborative creativity is storied. In turn, these stories reveal specific communication forms, practices, and strategies that enrich theoretical conceptions of collaborative creativity. Following dramatistic concepts elaborated by Kenneth Burke, this rhetorical analysis finds three emergent patterns of …

Scripting The Unscripted: Gender And Sexual Orientation In Strategy-Genre Reality Television, L Elizabeth Zollner

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Since 2000, there has been an explosion of "reality," or unscripted, television shows in a variety of formats. The series in which new societies are created in isolation appeared almost immediately to be influenced by certain identity constructs, particularly gender and sexual orientation. Audiences came to these shows with definite expectations already in place. I intend in this study to determine why this is so and what those expectations are.

Survivor, the germinal presentation of this genre, has as its motto "Outwit, Outplay, Outlast." However, as the show has developed through many iterations, the ability to literally survive in …

Access To Health Care Services: A Case Study In Hillsborough County, Florida, Jaime Nodarse

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The UpliftU® program is a long-term residential program for women and families who are homeless or at risk for homelessness. This program is one part of a larger, community-based non-profit organization serving low-income and homeless families in Hillsborough County, Florida for over 35 years. This program is not an emergency shelter program, but rather offers up to 18 months of participation in a self-sufficiency program to single women and families. The goal of the program is to prevent future homelessness for residents by helping them to reach their highest level of self-sufficiency. After volunteering at this organization for nine months, …

Novela Histórico-Posmoderna: Re-Examinando El Referente Histórico – Narrativo Del Siglo De Oro En Cuatro Textos De Arturo Pérez-Reverte, Alejandro De La Pava

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the relationships between reality and fiction on Arturo Pérez-Reverte's novels about Captain Alatriste. Four out of six novels about this character will be discussed and the analysis of this work will focus on how the author uses historical data and fiction not only to promote a new narrative in Spain, but also as a way to re-evaluate and challenge history. The texts which are analyzed in this thesis, El Capitán Alatriste, Limpieza de sangre, El sol de Breda and El oro del Rey center around a common main character who depicts a Spanish soldier in the Seventeenth …

Ocean Literacy And Reasoning About Ocean Issues: The Influence Of Content, Experience And Morality, Teresa Greely

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Ocean issues with conceptual ties to science and a global society have captured the attention, imagination, and concern of an international audience. Climate change, over fishing, marine pollution, freshwater shortages and alternative energy sources are a few ocean issues highlighted in our media and casual conversations. From the life-giving rain that nourishes crops and our bodies, to life-saving medicines; from the fish that come from the ocean, to the goods that are transported on the sea's surface-the ocean plays a role in our life in some way every day (NOAA, 1998). However, a disconnect exists between what scientists know and …

Prostate Cancer Screening Intention Among African American Men: An Instrument Development Study, Susan Anita Baker

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States. Prostate cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths among African American men, and African American men have the highest incidence of prostate cancer in the world. Limited studies have been conducted that address this critical issue. Existing literature reveals that the primary cause of increased mortality rates of prostate cancer in African American men is lack of participation in prostate cancer screening activities. The purpose of this three-phase study was to develop a valid and reliable instrument to measure prostate cancer screening intention among African American men. …

“This Isn’T Like Diphtheria, You Know?”: The Sociocultural Context Of Human Papillomavirus Immunization, Potential Mandates, And Narratives Of Risk Among, Hannah Louise Helmy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Many in the biomedical community have praised the recently released Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, Gardasil, for having the potential to significantly reduce the disease burden of cervical cancer and genital warts. However, complex intersections of ideology, morality, and politics have made this new vaccine considerably contested, particularly as public debate has turned to the ethics of state-mandated HPV vaccination for 11-12 year old girls. Subsequently, the extent to which mandatory vaccinations are accepted by parents and implications regarding the infringement of these coercive measures on their rights to make health care decisions for their children has become powerfully positioned in …

School As A Center For Community: Establishing Neighborhood Identity Through Public Space And Educational Facility, Fred Goykhman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

“Safety is an opportunity for people to open their minds” -Jin Baek, 2008

For my thesis I will design an education facility. That education facility will strive to meet with today's security needs and will provide a safe-feeling place for growth. In identifying the problem, I found two main causes for the described conditions in today's schools. They are improper adaptation and uniform building type.

Improper adaptation has to do with surface applications, rather than integrating with the social fabric of the school's communal requirements. Unfortunate incidents have caused the solutions to heightened security around schools to be fortressing and …

Blank Power: The Social And Political Criticism Of Blank Fiction And Cinema, Ashley Minix Donnelly

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores a style of literature known as "blank" fiction that became popular in the United States in the mid-1980s, focusing on its stark, limited form, its minimal plots, its focus on commodification, and its scenes of graphic violence. The author presents the argument that filmmakers were producing pieces of cinema during the same time period that are similar in both form and content to the works of blank fiction. These films are a part of a style she labels "blank" cinema.

Blank fiction and cinema are politically charged and highly critical of the social and political situation in …

Monocytes As Gene Therapy Vectors For The Treatment Of Alzheimer’S Disease, Lori Ann Lebson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The accumulation of amyloid-ß; protein (Aß) in Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a well known pathological event. Decreasing the production or increasing the degradation of Aß; is therefore thought to serve as a potential therapeutic intervention in AD. Recent in vitro and in vivo studies have suggested that certain proteases may be involved in the catabolism of Aß; and defects in the degradation of Aß; could contribute to AD disease progression. Studies implicating the homing of monocytes to regions of CNS damage have led to the idea that it may be possible to use genetically modified monocytes to carry exogenous genes …

Culture Learning In Spanish Companion Book Websites: An Analysis Of Tasks, Angela Cresswell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Internet with its World Wide Web feature opened up a whole new frontier for language-culture learning that foreign language textbook authors have integrated into their programs. Designing tasks that progress beyond promoting learners' passive consumerism and reiteration of facts remains a goal and a challenge. Thus, three research questions characterized this study that sought to examine the on-line tasks associated with six current Spanish textbook programs. The design focused on an analysis of these tasks in light of prevailing culture learning concepts and other pedagogical paradigms posited by reputable foreign language educators to determine if they filled the gap …

Mathematical Modeling Of Polymer Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells, Colleen Spiegel

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Fuel cells are predicted to be the power delivery devices of the future. They have many advantages such as the wide fuel selection, high energy density, high efficiency and an inherent safety which explains the immense interest in this power source. The need for advanced designs has been limited by the lack of understanding of the transport processes inside the fuel cell stack. The reactant gases undergo many processes in a fuel cell that cannot be observed. Some of these processes include convective and diffusional mass transport through various types of materials, phase change and chemical reaction. In order to …

The Acquisition Of Procedural Skills: An Analysis Of The Worked-Example Effect Using Animated Demonstrations, David Lewis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

While many educators suggest active, rather than passive learning, this is not always the best solution, especially when learners are novices. Sweller and Cooper found learners who passively studied worked examples were significantly more efficient than those who actively solved problems (Cooper & Sweller, 1987; Sweller & Cooper, 1985) later described as the "worked-example effect" (Sweller & Chandler, 1991).

The current study tested the claims of Lewis (2005) who suggested animated demonstrations act as worked examples. It compared the performance of groups of preservice teachers who: studied animated demonstrations (demo); studied animated demonstrations and practiced procedures (demo+practice & demo2+practice), or …

Analysis Of Water Seepage Through Earthen Structures Using The Particulate Approach, Kalyani Jeyisanker

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A particulate model is developed to analyze the effects of steady state and transient seepage of water through a randomly-packed coarse-grained soil as an improvement to conventional seepage analysis based on continuum models. In the new model the soil skeleton and pore water are volumetrically coupled. In the first phase of the study, the concept of relative density has been used to define different compaction levels of the soil layers of a completely saturated pavement filter system and observe the seepage response to compaction. First, Monte-Carlo simulation is used to randomly pack discrete spherical particles from a specified Particle Size …

Talking With Exotic Pet Owners: Exploratory Audience Research On Wildlife Television And Human-Animal Interactions, Susannah L. Smith

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative grounded study explores the potential relationship between wildlife TV viewing and human-animal interactions for exotic pet owners. The method involved 13 in-depth interviews and a qualifying open-ended questionnaire with 37 individuals. The interviews gathered viewers' interpretations of two different human-wildlife interactions on TV and served as a launching point for discussion. Findings supported the literature in that wildlife TV was an important source of information, emotion, and contradictory messages. Themes also emerged regarding participants' characterizations of their relationships with their pets. Drawing from social cognitive theory, this thesis suggests the following potential motivators for participants to model animal …

Y Cortázar Ganó Por Nocaut. Realismo Posvanguardista En La Cuentística Del Cono Sur, Alicia Carolina Mercado-Harvey

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis argues that a literary change occurred after the fall of the dictatorships of the Southern Cone, characterized by the emergence of markets that provoked a "mini-boom" in sales and, at the same time, a change of aesthetics which abandoned the allegorical models of the post-boom in favor of a realistic literature in dialogue with popular culture. This is the sign of postmodernity and globalization in Latin America, reflected in its literature, particularly in the short story writing of the Southern Cone, which has utilized the parody and pastiche of the postmodern era without the trivialization that occurred in …

Laser Remote Sensing Of Trace Chemical Species Using 10.6 Μm Co2 Laser Enhanced Breakdown Spectroscopy And Differential Absorption Lidar., Avishekh Pal

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Several different laser remote sensing techniques related to the detection of trace chemical species were studied. In particular, a Differential-Absorption lidar (DIAL), a Laser-Induced-Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) lidar, and a Raman lidar were studied. Several of the laser spectroscopic techniques that were used were common throughout these different studies. More precisely, 10.6 μm CO₂ laser related spectroscopy was common for the DIAL and LIBS studies, and 266 nm Nd:YAG laser related spectroscopy was used for the LIBS and Raman studies.

In the first system studied a tunable CO₂ DIAL system was developed for the first time to our knowledge …

Reconstructions: The Contemporary Southern Landscape By Its Photographers, Natalie Kersey Gillis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the work of landscape photographers living and working in the Southern region of the United States and to explore what their images visually communicate about their relationship to the Southern land and its distinctive history. This objective is accomplished through an analysis of the work of three contemporary landscape photographers who reside in the South, and work primarily within their local hometowns.

This thesis examines the work of photographers William Christenberry, Sally Mann, and John McWilliams. Each is a photographer who is native to the American South and has used his or …

Protecting The Self: An Ethnographic Study Of Emotion Management Among Child Protective Investigators, Aaron Christopher Howell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The question that I investigate here is what emotion work is performed by child protective investigators in order to be successful at their work, and how do they manage these emotional challenges within a community of their peers? Many different workers, from airline employees (Hochschild, 1983) to mortuary science students (Cahill, 1999) to 911 operators (Shuler & Sypher, 2000), have been studied to examine strategies and effects of emotion management. Yet scholars do not agree on whether emotion management at work is positive or negative.

For my research, I conducted interviews with ten investigators and observed a night unit of …